


NARCISSUS

by bangtrashsyd



Category: Super Junior, Super Junior-M
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, M/M, read this like a drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-09-13 16:16:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9131944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangtrashsyd/pseuds/bangtrashsyd
Summary: "I need to tell the both of you my story." Heechul says. They look at him, confused."What story?" Eunhyuk asks.Heechul takes a big breath."How I died." He says simply. "A thousand years ago."





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> first suju work god help me also this is written like a drama

  **ENGLAND**

 The Police Commissioner is having a bad day.

"Sir, there's someone on line two looking for you, says it's urgent." His secretary tells him and backs nervously out. He tries not to roll his eyes. Within a day, there's been seven reports of theft and one car accident. Everyone's on edge.

He picks up the phone.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" He asks, keeping his voice curt.

"You can help me in many ways, Kim Jongyoo." The voice on the other end drawls sweetly, making the hairs on his arm stand. He draws up straight. "But first, look out of the window and to the tallest tree across the road."

Kim Jongyoo does as he asks and his eyes widen to see the caller leaning gently against it. The caller offers two lazy fingers in a wave.

"There are two cases of child abuse in your city. The first one is on Anderton Street, the house with the pink trim. The second one is on Doll Avenue, the house on the intersection where there's a bus stop." The speaker continues, brushing a lock of hair out of his face. He's beautiful, really, all large eyes and sharp features.

"What do I call you, Sir?" Kim Jongyoo asks quietly, eyes flickering away when the man makes eye contact with him.

"My name is Kim Heechul." The man turns his gaze away from him and fixates it on a woman standing across the street. He walks across the road, and Jongyoo watches the cars stop for him. "Call me Ace. I want the boys in your personal care by tomorrow morning. If not, I will burn down both houses, and yours too."

"Are you threatening me, Mr. Kim Heechul?" Jungsoo asks, eyes following the man as he offers an arm to the lady, who smiles surprisedly at him. 

"I don't threaten people, Jongyoo-ssi. I'm not a gangster." Heechul's voice drops into Korean as he strolls calmly down the street, like he hadn't just offered to burn down Jongyoo's house, with his kids and wife in it. "I make promises. I'll send someone tomorrow at ten in the morning."

"What-" Jongyoo cuts in, watching Heechul near the corner of the street.

"Goodbye, Jongyoo-ssi." Heechul cuts across. He looks up one final time and tosses his handphone onto the floor, crushing it with the sole of one well polished boot, kicking it across the road, where a car drives over it. One last lazy, satisfied smile, and Ace disappears. Jongyoo makes a note in his calendar, calling his two best inspectors. 

As they bow through the door, Jongyoo thinks about a smug, shit-eating grin. He looks up, eyes nervous, searching. They've never failed him before, he's sure they won't now. Child abuse cases were easier than most. Storm the house, save the kids, arrest everyone else in the building. A quick operation. They could do it in three hours. Did it really matter if the perpetrators were punished? It rarely did.

"I have cases for you."

* * *

 

**ONE DAY LATER**

 

Jongyoo stands at his desk, watching the two boys before him interact with each other. The skinny one offers a hand to the smaller, and Jongyoo watches as the other takes it cautiously. A bright grin forms on both dirty faces and Jongyoo is reminded of his son at home.

"Get over here." He sighs, turning over the damp washcloth in his hand. At his words, both of them pale, but the skinny one steps bravely in front of the other. Jongyoo's heart surges with pity but he takes the boy by the shoulder. Bending over, he scrubs at the boy's face carefully. He notices the dirt caked on his arms.

"Arms out." He orders and the boy holds out his arms, eyes filled with curiosity. He wipes the clean side of the cloth against scarred skin, dragging black streaks through the it. He ducks into the little washroom, rinsing the cloth and returning for the other boy. Like this, he can almost imagine they are his.

"What are your names?" He asks, keeping his voice kind.

"I don't have one." The small ones mutters and the other, taller one offers a shrug. "They called me Hyuk." He says off handedly. 

Jongyoo frowns, looking at the clock. It'll be ten soon.

On cue, someone knocks on the door and he strides across the room, opening it. The girl on the side is young, probably in her mid-twenties. Her eyes are a very light brown, almost frosted over.

"Good morning." She says, almond eyes curled into a smile. "I'm here for the boys. Ace sent me."

"Of course." Jongyoo says, bowing a little. The girl's brown hair drifts in the wind coming through the window. It's getting chilly. 

"Boys." He instructs and they come around to stare at the new arrival.

"Who is this?" They ask and the girl smiles, squatting down.

"My name is Taeyeon." She tilts her head. "Don't you remember me?"

The boys tilt their heads too, until the small one gasps.

"Noona?" He checks and the woman nods an affirmative. Jongyoo looks on at them. 

"Time to go." Taeyeon says. She glances up at Jongyoo. "I trust nothing will happen to me."

Jongyoo hums in agreement. She turns to leave and the boys follow after her, but Jongyoo's eyes land on the toy trucks his son left behind the last time he came over.

"Wait!" He shouts after them and the boys stop.

"Take this." He offers a blue truck to the smaller and a red one to the other. They stare at it, observing the bright painted roof.

"Thank you." The skinny one says and bows, the other following his lead after a while. Jongyoo watches them leave with a wistful smile. 

* * *

Heechul sits by the window. 

He's been waiting for a very long time. But the other was gone, for a very long time too. 

 

"Oppa." Taeyeon knocks at the door and Heechul turns to face her. Of course, her trip back was safe and free of trouble. He would expect no less.

The boys are so small. But they'll do.

"Hello." He says to the both of them but they cower away. He fashions out two black balloons and offer them to the boys. Under Taeyeon's comforting pats, they come forward to meet him. He gets off the window sill and sits on the floor.

"My name is Heechul." He introduces and Taeyeon slips away. "Call me hyung." 

"Chul-ie hyung?" One asks and Heechul smooths a hand through his hair, regretting it after. It's dirty.

"Yes." He says, resisting the need to wipe his hand. 

"I don't have a name." He replies softly.

"Yes you do." Heechul grins. "Your name is Donghae. Your parents named you amend long time ago."

"Hae?" The boys whispers, eyes lighting up. 

"Yeah." Heechul coos. He's cute.

"What about mine?" The other asks. "They used to call me Hyuk."

"Do you know what Hyuk means?" Heechul asks and the boy shakes his head. He takes his palm and writes it in Hangul across it.

"Radiant. Abundant. Flames." He tells him and watches the boy observe him.

"You used to be Hyukjae." He announces. "Now, you are Eunhyuk. Eun means mercy, kindness."

"Okay." Eunhyuk stares at him for a while longer, and Heechul keeps his palm open, a silent invitation. After a while, Eunhyuk takes his hand.

"What about my name?" Donghae chirps.

"Dong means east. The Sun rises from the East, did you know that?" Heechul watches the boy shake his head. "Hae means sea."

Donghae takes his hand as well. 

Heechul smiles at the both of them.

"You'll live with me from now on. You know what me name means?" He asks softly.

"Pure hope." He continues, looking at them carefully in the eye. "I'll be your real hyung from now on. I'll protect you."

Donghae and Eunhyuk look at each other, as if marvelling at their luck.

"We'll protect you too, hyung." They say together, and Heechul is surprised. They climb into his lap for a hug and he excuses the dirt just this once.

* * *

  **FOUR YEARS LATER**

 

  _"Hyung!"_  

Heechul bursts through the gate at Donghae's scream. His boys,  _his,_ are surrounded with men in black. More of them are swamping his estate, and Heechul spots one of them trying to steal the jewelry.

"Stop this  _at once."_ Heechul yells, incensed.

"Ah, we were waiting for you." The man has Eunhyuk's hair in his grip. "Heechul, isn't it?"

"Nice house you have, by the way." He notes. "I want a $100 million won. Each for both of your  _pets."_

"How  _dare you-"_ Heechulbrushes his hair from his face. 

"I am the youngest son of the Grim Reaper, and you  _dare intrude on **my territory?"**_ He ends off with a shriek of pure fury.

"Oh my God, we got a loonie here, boys." The room is filled with cruel laughter. "Grim Reaper? Who believes in that shit?"

Heechul hears the ignition of the cars that pull up behind him cut off. Taeyeon steps out of the one at the front.

"Great, and now we got the Power Puff Girls." One of them announces dramatically, bending over in mocking laughter. Taeyeon's started to radiate waves of cold air. Yuri makes a small growling sound in her throat, but Yoona holds her back. Of course, she was always the calmer one.

"Noona." Eunhyuk beseeches and he winces as the man pulls on his hair harder. He's forced to watch as they hit the back of Donghae's knees with a large basketball bat. The girls snarl. Donghae crumples, and that is enough for Eunhyuk to spring into action. 

He grabs the basketball bat and hits the man over the head with it, his anger causing the bat to connect with a satisfying crunch. Eunhyuk flings the bat away and bends down to drag Donghae across the smooth marble to where Heechul is standing. He grabs onto them in relief.

"Mine." Heechul says softly, pulling them forward so their foreheads connect. He draws away after a minute of chaos.

"Take them to the safe house." He instructs and Jessica and Yuri take their hands. He watches as they disappear into the wind, and turns back to the men. "Go. This is going to get ugly."

He lifts his hand before him and watches as his favorite staff, fire truck red with the gold top, materialize in it.

The men step back, and Heechul bathes in the feeling of fear. He hasn't felt that in so long, especially because of the boys. God, he's become  _domestic._

"Wreck hell." Taeyeon tells him and he grins. 

* * *

Donghae winces as Eunhyuk checks the wound on his thigh.

"I think your ribs are broken, Hyuk." Jessica says worriedly, passing the boy Panadol and a glass of water. He downs it without a second glance. 

"You're okay." Eunhyuk says in relief. Donghae remains silent. He's a relatively quiet child, he knows. It scares everyone sometimes. Donghae takes his best friend's palm, pressing his lips onto the scarred knuckles.

"I already knew that." Donghae replies. "We have to get Chul-ie hyung to fix your ribs."

"Yeah." Eunhyuk says, leaning against the couch. "I'm tired."

Donghae hums and Eunhyuk rests his head on his shoulder. They fall asleep like this, dead to the world. 

* * *

Taeyeon and Heechul duck through the front door, accepting welcoming hands coming to take their coats. 

"Oppa, we have a problem." Jessica tells him and he follows her upstairs to see his boys. They've fallen asleep.

"Eunhyuk has three broken ribs." She reports, placing a small hand on his shoulder. "I'm not powerful enough yet."

Heechul bends down and smooths a hand over Eunhyuk's forehead before bringing it down to his chest. It pulses bright red with his energy and Eunhyuk's pained face smooths over with a sigh. Heechul straightens, pressing his lips to Eunhyuk's forehead. He motions for Jessica to step out and he follows, closing the door with a slight click.

"I think Eunhyuk's hit killed the guy." Yuri bets, leaning against the kitchen chair. 

_"Yuri."_ Yoona sighs exasperatedly. "He's a kid. He's just fifteen."

"He's been ruled for attempt of murder." Jessica says, biting her lip. "It's been written on his chart."

"God _damn it."_  Heechul sits down in his chair, banging his head on the table with a loud groan. "Was Donghae marked?"

"No." Jessica says, eyes far away. "He will soon, give or take three years."

"Shit," Heechul closes his eyes tiredly. "I didn't want them to find out so soon."

"They had to." Taeyeon tells him. 

"But so soon?" Heechul asks. "I wish I could prolong our little bit of happiness."

Taeyeon exchanges a look with the girls over his head, unsure and searching.

"What is it," Heechul says, not opening his eyes. "I can feel the tension."

"The girls and I were planning on leaving for a while." Taeyeon admits. She'd always been the little leader of the group, Heechul thinks. Then her words register.

"Define 'a while'." He says, voice cold. 

"Months, maybe two years." Jessica says, observing his reaction. He's not _mad,_ per se.

"What for?" Heechul opens his eyes and spins in his seat. "I could give you all you need."

"Oppa." Yoona looks into his face. "We're not fully happy here. Besides, Yuri's Seen something."

"What did you see?" Heechul asks Yuri, and she straightens. He's always been jealous of her gift.

"Another group of girls, just like us, oppa." She says excitedly. "We're going to become a Full Batch together!" 

Heechul's face drops. He's known this would happen, it did to all of their kind he had came across. He was always a pit stop, the rest station. Never the destination. Never _enough._

"Oppa." Yoona leans forward to wrap him in a hug. "We love you, you know that. But we were never meant to stay together for eternity."

Heechul refuses to open his mouth, looking down in his lap, where his long fingers are tangled together. 

"Everyone leaves me." He forces the words out. He can't even _look_  at Taeyeon. He's literally raised her, from when she was a screaming bundle ditched at his door step in India, to when she started Displaying, to when she frosted their house over in Serbia- The words sound terribly pathetic. He blinks furiously. He hates this, he hates himself.

_Not everything belongs to you, not **everyone belongs to you!**_

He flinches as the memory burns across his mind. He would not remember, he couldn't.

Heechul tenses and Yoona draws her forehead back, looking down at him. He lifts her easily out of his lap and his face smooths over dramatically. He's perfecting the art of looking blank.

"Go." He says, trying to keep the stuffiness out of his voice. "I wish the very best for all of you." 

_I love you, my children, my sisters._

He walks up the stairs to where Donghae and Eunhyuk are. His present, his future. Maybe they would leave him too, just like Taeyeon is now. He feels like a father seeing his daughter off, and he's never felt so old.

"Oppa," Taeyeon protests, a whine seeping into her voice and he turns away, slipping into his old room and closing the door. He slides down against the door.

_A slap, a horrified shriek: "How **dare**  you say that-"_

_A look of desperation. "Don't leave me, I'm sorry-"_

_"It's not working out, we've lived too long together-"_

Heechul doesn't realize he's crying until the tear drops are wiped away by Donghae. He looks into Donghae's eyes, eternally sad.

"Hyung," Donghae says, pulling Heechul to the couch bed, where Eunhyuk stares blearily at them before turning around and going back to sleep. Heechul settles into the velvet, Donghae's hand in his. Donghae wraps his body around him, all awkward arms and legs.

"I won't leave you." Donghae says, and Heechul shakes his head- "I swear on my life, hyung."

_Oh._

"Don't be sad, Chul-ie hyung." Eunhyuk mutters in his sleep. Heechul blinks and swallows the lump in his throat. Donghae smiles at him, all bright white teeth and sharp cheekbones.

"I won't be sad, if you're with me." Heechul says.

"I'm always with you hyung, now stop it. It's not monsoon season yet, and you're going to flood the villages." Donghae sasses. Heechul grins, caught by surprise. 

The storm outside lets up and Heechul draws the curtain close with a flick of his hand.

"Let's sleep, yeah, Hae?" He coaxes and he's reminded of when they first arrived to him, in England, how he scrubbed them over till they were red, but _clean._  He slept with the both of them, him and Eunhyuk on the outside, Donghae in the middle. When they got too big to handle, Heechul gave them soccer balls and tennis rackets and anything they wanted. He would keep giving, because they were his. He's struck with a vision, of a house filled with the familiar scents of a dozen other people. Donghae and Eunhyuk are smiling, Donghae's arm wrapped loosely around Eunhyuk's waist. Heechul's hugged from behind by someone and he gasps in surprise.

"Missed me?" Someone breathes in his ear and Heechul drops his wine glass. The vision disappears, and he tries not to think so hard about that voice. _His_ voice. Heechul's had people belong to him before, but Heechul belonged to this man only.

"Hankyung." He says out loud, gripped by a memory.

_"Kyung, don't cross the road and read the newspaper, you hear me?" Heechul thinks, imagining the other strolling mindlessly down the sidewalk, tripping on the road._

_"Yeah, yeah." Hankyung's internalized scoff is as amusing as real life, and Heechul savours the sound, sweet and pure. Then a loud crash and the violent squeak of metal._

_"Hankyung?" His voice, filled with terror. "Kyung?"_

_"Heechul-ie." His name, breathed out. "I love you."_

_"Kyung?" Heechul asked again. "Kyung? Kyung! Talk to me, damn it! Say some-"_

"HYUNG." Eunhyuk yells into his ear and Heechul is jolted awake. He darts upright, hitting Eunhyuk in the nose. 

"Look, hyung, we made breakfast in bed." Eunhyuk gestures to the array of dishes on the floor. Heechul holds out a hand, listening to the wind. 

_Missed me?_

"Hankyung." Heechul says again, eyes filling with horror. _If he was alive, even now, he would be-_

"Who's Hankyung, hyung?" Eunhyuk asks, and Donghae steps through the door with more offerings of fruit juice.

Heechul looks at them, and Donghae's bright expression dulls at the look on his face. He sets the cartons down carefully. 

"What happened?" Donghae looks at Eunhyuk. "Did he eat something he's allergic to?"

"He's not allergic to anything, dumbass." Eunhyuk replies, quick to defend himself. "Besides, he hasn't even eaten anything-"

"I need to tell the both of you my story." Heechul says. They look at him, confused.

"What story?" Eunhyuk asks.

Heechul takes a big breath.

"How I died." He says simply. "A thousand years ago."

 


	2. How I died

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Beginning: 
> 
> Heechul adopts Eunhyuk and Donghae. His house is overrun by ganagsters and Donghae is hurt. In anger, Eunhyuk hits someone with a basketball bat and is Marked with attempted murder. Taeyeon's informal Batch leaves Heechul and the boys, much to Heechul's despair. The next morning, Heechul wakes up with a premonition.

Donghae hums as he scoops the eggs from the slightly charred pan into a plate. When he woke up, Heechul was restless, even when sleeping. He groaned someone's name against the pillows. Donghae wanted him to feel better, so he woke Eunhyuk up to make his hyung breakfast in bed.

Taeyeon-noona and the others have left, leaving the remainder of a few tell tale cans of soju and maekju. He assumes their conversation with Heechul did not go well, after Heechul came up crying. The tear tracks were still stained on his face. Eunhyuk shrieks at Heechul to wake up and Donghae shakes his head with a grin. Eunhyuk was so  _noisy._

The house drops into a sudden silence and a chill blew through the windows, even though summer was ending. The sun's rays dimmed, and Donghae knew Heechul was awake, and probably in another sad mood. He walks quickly through the hallway, not bothering to check the rooms with the closed doors. When he slides the door open, Heechul's hair is standing all over his head. Donghae grins at the sight, until he catches the look on his face. It's dark, matching the clouds rolling in from the East.

There's a voice whispering on the wind, and Donghae strains to hear it. It fades and Donghae turns fustratedly to Eunhyuk.

"What happened?" He asks, leveling his voice with accusation. A random though springs to mind. "Did he eat something he's allergic to?"

Eunhyuk frowns at him.

"He's not allergic to anything, dumbass." Eunhyuk says and Donghae frowns at the insult, ready to smack the other. "Besides, he hasn't even eaten anything-"

_Stop bickering._ Heechul's tired voice cuts through the air, but Donghae didn't see him open his mouth.

"I need to tell the both of you my story." Heechul says suddenly. Donghae looks back at him, confused.

"What story?" Eunhyuk asks, and Donghae spares him a quick glance. The other leaned forward to peer at Heechul's face. Heechul takes a big breath.

"How I died." He says simply. "A thousand years ago."

Donghae is stunned into a minute of silence.

"Hyung?" Eunhyuk asks. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Heechul snaps back, the skin under his eyes dark with exhaustion. 

"So how did you die?" Donghae asks, confused. 

"I was executed for theft in the capital of Baekje." Heechul grins ruefully. "I had been an established entertainer once. My brother was sick, so I stole medicine from my friend's office. Turns out, she sold me out thinking I was a peasant."

"Uh," Eunhyuk says eloquently. "You look alive to me."

"I'm drifting." Heechul admits. "I am able to keep my physical form, and acquire some powers because of who I am now."

"And you are?"

"I'm a Reaper." Heechul tells it straight, watching their faces. "I guide people to the afterlife."

"Back at the old house," Donghae says. "You said you were the son of the Grim Reaper."

"That was exaggerated." Heechul admits, carding a hand through his hair. "I haven't seen any of my brothers in years, and my father for a century, maybe he's gotten a new kid or something."

"But, he's like biologically your dad?" Eunhyuk checks, and when Heechul nods, he leans back with a huff. "This is crazy."

"What about noonas?" Donghae asks. Heechul sits up at that.

"They're Reapers too, but it's different. I'm a Grim Reaper, they're just Reapers." Heechul explains. "They committed a sin, or saw a Grim Reaper retrieve a soul in their lives. So they can't enter the afterlife. If the sin was unintentional or ruled fair by my father's secretaries, they become Reapers, cursed to roam the earth forever."

"What's a Batch?" Donghae asks. "I heard you say that yesterday, downstairs."

"It's a group of Reapers that work together." Heechul's gaze turns sad. "Your noonas left yesterday to find more members."

"What about us?" Eunhyuk asks, and his hand creeps forward to take Donghae's.

Heechul's eyes drop to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Hyuk-ie." He whispers. "You've been Marked with Attempted Murder."

"Because of what I did to the guy yesterday?" Eunhyuk asks, and Heechul nods. Eunhyuk's eyes turn steely. "It was to protect Hae, I don't regret it."

Donghae grips the elder's hand tightly.

"What about me?" Donghae asks.

"You still have a chance to live normally." Heechul says, scuffing his toes against the carpet.

"No." Donghae decides. "I'm not leaving Eunhyuk and you alone."

Heechul turns to him, stunned. 

"I promised you last night I wouldn't leave." Donghae says, wondering a little himself if he's making the right decision. "I don't break my promises."

Heechul and Eunhyuk look at him, stunned. Donghae looks them in the eye firmly, and offers a smile.

"Come on hyung, bring us on one of your trips." Donghae says, passing the plate of food to Heechul, who takes it numbly. "Seal the deal."

"Huh." Heechul says around a mouthful of burnt eggs. He reaches into his backpocket to retrieve a stack of black cards. He checks it and gets to his feet, holding out both hands to his boys.

"Hold on tight, kids." He says with a glint in his eyes. "We're going to Australia."

Donghae closes his eyes and feels the tug in his stomach. Heechul's grip is tight and familiar, comforting him. He's been Donghae's hyung, his saviour, his  _dad_ , even. He can trust him.

* * *

Heechul lands them on a jetty, where a small abandoned lighthouse stands forlornly.

"Come here." Heechul instructs, walking towards the door. A staff materializes in his hand, a traditional looking black one with an iron grip. They follow him obediently as he navigates with the top of the staff glowing. It glows even more fiercely when they reach the green door in the building. Heechul opens it and sneaks inside. Donghae looks at the dead man on the bed and tries not to dart his gaze away. Eunhyuk's hand creeps into his again and he holds it, grateful.

"Ready, Hae?" Heechul asks, unsure.

"Yeah." Donghae says, opening his eyes as wide as he can.

Heechul stands over the man and Donghae watches as his very image flickers violently. Heechul rests the staff on the man's lips and presses fingers to his forehead. Heechul sucks in deeply and Donghae and Eunhyuk watches in surprise as a wisp of a person emerges from the man's lips, deathly ghostly and pale in the light of the flickering candle. It swirls a little and Heechul lets it, before capturing it with his fingers and touching it with the staff. The wisp dissolves into it, and Donghae thinks it's little mouth creeps into a small smile.

 "It is done." Heechul says tiredly, smiling at them. "It was okay right?"

"It was surprisingly quiet." Eunhyuk admits and Heechul gasps a short laughter, tilting his head back. 

"Ice cream?" He offers them, his smile a little brittle and unsure. Donghae steps forward, nodding.

"I'm up for a Chocolate cone." He agrees and Heechul looks visibly relieved.

"What the heck, Strawberry's the best." Eunhyuk argues back and Heechul wraps an arm around both of them, whirling all three of them away.


	3. Love makes fools of us all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heechul shows Donghae and Eunhyuk the ropes to being a Reaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pov change wuhu

**1945, 12TH FEBRUARY**

"Who are you looking for?" Hankyung looks up at the man next to him. Jungsoo looms over him, floppy hat pulled over his eyebrows. He looks ridiculous, and Hankyung reaches out to yank the hat off his head with an exasperated sigh.

"Jungoo-" He starts tiredly.

"Lee Teuk." The other corrects him. "Park Jungsoo died a long time ago."

"Teuk-ie." Hankyung says. "I can't remember his name. You know that."

Lee Teuk settles next to him with a drawn-out groan. 

"I always ask you because I don't want you to forget even more." He reminds gently, and Hankyung humors him.

"He's very pretty," Hankyung says wistfully. "He's mean, but takes care of you in the gentlest way. He's harsh and horrible and rude, but he can do anything for the one he loves."

"Which is you." Lee Teuk bumps his shoulder against his, and Hankyung sighs. 

"I've been looking for him for the past 30 years." Hankyung says, observing his reflection in the mirror across the street. He's still clean, handsome, pressed into a white suit. Exactly the one  _he_ first met him in. 

Hankyung can't remember the name of his first love.

It started before Lee Teuk. When Hankyung woke up, he was dizzy. He stood up, wandered down the street, slept on a bench in the frigid night chill. The next day, it read out on the news headlines that he had died, and he waved at the newspaper stand's owner to no avail. He was aware, after a short period of time, that he was either a ghost, or something supernatural.  _He_ had explained something about a reaper, and Hankyung remembered the address that they used to stay together at. To his horror, when he arrived, the place was burned to the ground, charred with  _his_ grief. Now, Hankyung can barely remember the things of old, sometimes he forgets  _his_ smile, or  _his_ birthday, or the way  _he_ would get upset over the stupidest things. Their fights, their sleepovers. He can barely remember.

 _I_ _'m here, I'm still waiting._ Hankyung thinks frantically. When he was alive, they could talk to each other in their heads because of a charm  _he_ had given him. Lee Teuk said that some people could talk to others. Psychics, or something like that. Hankyung's a reaper, he guesses all are possible.

Lee Teuk is the supposed grandson of the Great Grim Reaper, or what people normally address him, The First Lord. Apparently this Lord was horny enough to spawn legions of children, Grim Reapers. Reapers were originally mortal. Grim Reapers were immortal from the start.

"What if he's dead?" Lee Teuk asks, and Hankyung hisses at him angrily.

"I'll find his reincarnated spirit." Hankyung decides with a fierce nod. "I'll find him, and we'll be together again."

"And what if he's a Reaper?" Lee Teuk asks him again, and Hankyung closes his eyes. 

"I'll still find him, Teuk." Hankyung whispers. "I'll search the Earth, whisper into her crevices and caves, dive into the sea. I'll fly among the birds. I'll search the world, and for infinite times over. And I _will_ find him."

* * *

 

**2016, 17TH JUNE**

"Han!" Lee Teuk bursts into his apartment. "Oh my God, have you seen this month's quota?"

"Yes, I have." Hankyung rolls his eyes. "Get out, you're disrupting brain activity."

Lee Teuk leaves with an indignant huff. Hankyung stares outside his window. He should go to the museum, the new one opened this week. After a while, Hankyung could control his mortal form, without fading in and out momentarily. He was solid now. Maybe there would be an interesting piece of art, or history, that he could discover. 

He closes his eyes and pictures the small museum, the front decorated with little statues of goblins and sprites. He materializes around the corner of the street and walks down to the entrance. Outside, there's a little stall selling strange stones and accessories. He nears the stall and peers. In the middle, a ring with a yellow stone seems to call out to him, and his fingers near it. He picks it up by the box.

 _Its pretty._ He thinks, and the stall owner smiles at him meaningfully.

"For your girlfriend!" She presents happily, trying to win him over. His fingers ghost over the surface of the stone, a sear through his mind, and he's gripped with a memory.

_"Hurry up, you're going to be late for your interview!" Someone is banging on the bathroom door, and Hankyung whips it open with a fustrated groan._

_"Leave me alone, Hee-" He looks down to see the man he's been longing to see for a century. His name is just at the tip of his tongue-_

Someone snaps his fingers in front of him and Hankyung looks up with a startled shout.

"Jeez, sorry man." The other guy holds up his hands in protest. He's handsome, the kind of handsome that gets you on dramas. His eyes seem sad, for some reason. Hankyung can see another guy waiting for him. They look like brothers. "You want that? I think my brother would like it. It's yellow topaz-"

_"Wear this all the time. It's yellow topaz."_

"Yes, I want this." Hankyung turns urgently to the store owner. "How much is it?"

"You seem to like this a lot." The store owner observes and waves a hand. "Alright, one hundred. All proceeds go to charity."

He passes her the money dazedly and walks away, staring at the ring in his hand. His hand drifts up to his neck, where a silver chain lies. He teleports home and settles on the couch. Lee Teuk isn't home yet.

He empties the ring out on the table, careful not to touch the stone. He inhales. If his instinct is right, this stone and this ring is a part of his old life. He grabs the ring by the band, then folds his fingers over it.

_"Kyung, don't cross the road and read the newspaper at the same time."_

_"Don't eat those dumplings so fast, I hope you choke."_

_"Are you that poor? Come on, let's go for dinner."_

_"Are you sick? You should have kept your stupid ass at home-"_

"Heechul." Hankyung says, overcome by the memories. He looks down at the ring. He's dropped it under the sofa, and he leans over to get it. In the darkness, something else sparkles in the space between the couch and the floor. He retrieves it. 

It's a simple stone, smooth on all sides like a river stone. It has bands of blue and white running through it, and Hankyung turns it over to see the Chinese character engraved on the back. Hankyung recognizes it.

It's the exact one that says on Heechul's too.


	4. He's my uncle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hankyung retrieves an item from his past, which retrieves his memories of Heechul. He finds a connection between his best friend Lee Teuk, and Heechul.

**2 HOURS LATER**

"I'm home." Lee Teuk announces as he pulls off his shoes. Hankyung hasn't contacted him for the whole day, which is strange. His best friend normally sends him stupid texts like pictures of cats or memes every hour to remind him he hasn't passed on to the next world yet.

Lee Teuk drops his jacket on the kitchen table, hanging up his tie and belt on the coat rack. Hankyung's coat is still in the same place as it were in the morning. Lee Teuk unbuttons the first two bottoms of his shirt, padding into the living room in his blue Cookie Monster socks. On the couch, Hankyung is lying on his side, turning something over and over in his hand that flashes in the sunlight. Lee Teuk tip toes over to check if he's okay.

"Park Jungsoo." Hankyung stops turning the object, standing up to face him in one smooth move. "Where did _you_ get this?"

He holds up the stone Lee Teuk remembers losing recently. 

"Oh, that?" Lee Teuk laughs, swiping it away. Hankyung's expression becomes more intense, and Lee Teuk hastens to answer the question. "My uncle gave it to me."

"Do you know someone called," Hankyung pauses, as if unsure. "Heechul?"

"Sure, he's that uncle." Lee Teuk replies curiously. "What's wrong?"

"If he's your uncle, does that make him a _Grim Reaper?"_ Hankyung asks, voice strangled.

"Yes, he's one of the most powerful ones there is." Lee Teuk raises his eyebrows. "He apparently lost the love of his life around a century ago or something, turned his energy to harnessing his powers."

Hankyung's eyes fill with tears, and Lee Teuk freaks out. He's confused.

"Hey, hey, hey." Lee Teuk says as Hankyung sits down heavily on the couch. The springs protest loudly against the sudden weight. "What's wrong?"

"I need to meet with him." Hankyung says, eyes far away.

"Okay." Lee Teuk says questioningly. He's never seen his best friend like this.

"I need to be sure." Hankyung tells himself softly, but Lee Teuk catches the words. "I need an appointment by next week."

Lee Teuk nods his head, and watches as Hankyung disappears in the chill coming in from the window.

"What's going on?" 

* * *

 

_"HYUNG."_

"WHAT?" Heechul roars back at Donghae. He fiddles with his game controller, whacking down several enemies with vindictive strikes.

"You have a letter." A brown package is flung at his face, and Heechul sets the controller down with a restrained sigh. Donghae is 18 now, old enough to be endlessly annoying. It's worse when Eunhyuk and Donghae are together; They fight all the time.

"Who is it from?" Heechul asks, pausing the game.

"There isn't anything written on the outside." Donghae reports. Heechul flips the envelope over and stares at the silver wax seal.

"It's okay, I know who this is." Heechul grins, breaking the seal and retrieving the letter from within.

_I need to meet with you as soon as possible. My address is in the name card included. Please come._

_Teuk-ie_

Heechul frowns at it. It is rare when Lee Teuk calls upon him, and even rarer that he asks for his help. He shrugs on his coat, waving a quick goodbye to Donghae who stares after him, mystified.

He opens his eyes to the busy streets of Gangnam, walking quickly though the crowd to the apartment blocks. He dashes into a lobby and presses the button for the 14th floor. He makes himself presentable, tucking his hair behind his ears. He's cut it shorter recently. Observing his reflection, Heechul notes that he's become skinny again. Like this, he can imagine himself a century ago, eyes alight with fire.

The lift doors open with a ding, and Heechul rings Lee Teuk's doorbell twice. The door opens, and Lee Teuk grins at him with a pleased smile. 

"Great, you're here!" He cheers a little, wrapping Heechul up in a one armed embrace. "Now we just have to wait for my friend."

 _"Huh?"_ Heechul manages out before he's wrangled into the apartment. It's cute, he guesses, all blue and white. He ghosts a hand over the glossy marble kitchen table.

"Classy." He notes with a smirk, and Lee Teuk leads him into the living room. Heechul's attention is caught by the ring box on the table. He darts over and picks it up.

"Where did _you_ get this?" Heechul asks, outraged. 

"My _God,_ why is _everyone_ asking me that?" Lee Teuk fumes. "My roommate bought it yesterday."

"This is  _mine."_ Heechul spits, removing the ring from the box and slipping it on his finger. It's a perfect fit.

"Everything in the world once belonged to you." Lee Teuk jokes, but Heechul's mood is ruined.

"Let me meet your roommate." He insists, and Lee Teuk nods.

"Funny," He observes, "he wanted to meet you too."

In the corner, a rush of chill blows in from an opened window.

"That'll be him now." Lee Teuk announces with a smug grin. A form appears, and Heechul is struck by how familiar the back view looks. Then he turns around, and Heechul has to stop himself from fainting by grabbing the armrest of the chair nearest to him.

_"Kyung?"_

**_"Chul-ie?"_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a short chapter i'm sorry :-(

**Author's Note:**

> pls leave me a comment i'll love you forever


End file.
